Clara was born in Hong Kong and originally pursued a career in business. While working in the manufacturing industry, analysing data and looking at how processes could be improved, Clara discovered something important: there were strong links between how workplaces were designed and how safe they were for the people working in them.
This discovery sparked an unusual career pivot. While many people move from STEM into business, Clara did the opposite - she moved from business into engineering, learning Civil Engineering from scratch and going on to earn a Master’s degree and PhD at the University of Maryland in the United States.
“STEM offers many different routes to making a real impact - setbacks along the way are simply opportunities to learn and keep moving forward.”
Today, Clara holds two roles: Group Lead in Engineering Management at the University of Manchester, and Platform Lead for Safety Digital at the Thomas Ashton Institute. Her research combines organisational psychology, computer science and engineering to improve health and safety standards in industries like construction, where the risks to workers can be high. With over twenty years of experience across countries including Australia, China, Japan, India, the UK and the USA, Clara now leads international research projects focused on keeping workplaces safer around the world.
In 2023, Clara was named one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering for Safety and Security by the Women’s Engineering Society, recognising her impact on health and safety in high-risk industries.